Model Context Protocol (MCP) finally gives AI models a way to access the business data needed to make them really useful at work. CData MCP Servers have the depth and performance to make sure AI has access to all of the answers.
Try them now for free →
Access Sybase Data as OData Feeds in Tableau
Use the Tableau Desktop business intelligence tool to connect to Sybase data using the API Server.
The CData API Server, when paired with the ADO.NET Provider for Sybase (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers), provides Sybase data as OData Web services. This article will explain how to use the API Server to provide the underlying connectivity to Sybase data in Tableau's business intelligence tool.
Set Up the API Server
Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Sybase OData services:
Deploy
The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.
The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.
Connect to Sybase
After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Sybase, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Sybase by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.
To connect to Sybase, specify the following connection properties:
- Server: Set this to the name or network address of the Sybase database instance.
- Database: Set this to the name of the Sybase database running on the specified Server.
Optionally, you can also secure your connections with TLS/SSL by setting UseSSL to true.
Sybase supports several methods for authentication including Password and Kerberos.
Connect Using Password Authentication
Set the AuthScheme to Password and set the following connection properties to use Sybase authentication.
- User: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
- Password: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
Connect using LDAP Authentication
To connect with LDAP authentication, configure Sybase server-side to use the LDAP authentication mechanism.
After configuring Sybase for LDAP, you can connect using the same credentials as Password authentication.
Connect Using Kerberos Authentication
To leverage Kerberos authentication, begin by enabling it setting AuthScheme to Kerberos. See the Using Kerberos section in the Help documentation for more information on using Kerberos authentication.
You can find an example connection string below:
Server=MyServer;Port=MyPort;User=SampleUser;Password=SamplePassword;Database=MyDB;Kerberos=true;KerberosKDC=MyKDC;KerberosRealm=MYREALM.COM;KerberosSPN=server-name
When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.
You can then choose the Sybase entities you want to allow the API Server to access by clicking Settings -> Resources.
Additionally, click Settings -> Server and set the Default Format to XML (Atom) for compatibility with Tableau.
Authorize API Server Users
After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.
Create Real-Time Sybase Data Visualizations
Follow the steps below to create data visualizations based on the remote Sybase data:
-
In Tableau, select 'Connect to data'. In the 'On a server' section, click OData.
-
In the resulting wizard, enter the URL of the OData endpoint for the API Server. Append the name of the table you want to access to the OData entry URL. For example:
https://your-server/api.rsc/Products -
Select the
'Use a Username and Password' option and enter the username and password of a user who has access to the API Server.
-
Tableau uses the table metadata exposed by the API Server to detect dimension and measure columns.
-
To view the Sybase data, right-click under the table name in the Data section of the dashboard and select the View Data option. The Sybase data will appear in Tableau.
